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LIGHTNING ARRESTBR AND AUTOMATIC FUSE BLOCK.

No. 563,257 Patented July 7, 1896.

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LIGHTNING ARRESTBR AND AUTOMATIC FUSE BLOGK. No. 563,257. 6 Patented July 7, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS L. OARLETON, OF NEIV ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF, AND IVILLIAM H. BELT, OF SORANTON, AND EDlVARD G. BURKLIN, OF BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, AND FRANK L. LOIVIS, OF AUBURNDALE, OHIO.

LlGHTNlNG-ARRESTER AND AUTOMATIC FUSE-BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,257, dated July '7, 1896.

Application filed February 28, 1894. Serial No. 501,835. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: bars B U, the curved bar B being made of Be it known that I, THOMAS L. OARLETON, metal and the bar O being formed of insulatof New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and ing material, such as vulcanite. The said State of Louisiana, have invented a new and bars are parallel with each other and are Improved Lightning-Arrester and Automatic formed on circles, of which the stud D is the 55 Fuse-Block, of which the following is a specicenter. The said stud D is secured to a mefication, reference being had to the annexed tallic strip E, attached to the base A, and on drawings, forming a part thereof, in which the said stud is placed a sleeve F, which car- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved ries an arm G. The said arm G is held nor- IO lightning-arrester and automatic fuse-block. mally in contact with one of the wires (4, 6 Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is stretched across from the curved bar 13 to the a vertical transverse section taken on line 3 3 curved bar C by a spiral spring e, surroundin Fig. 1. Fig. tis a side elevation of a modiing and attached to the sleeve F at one end lied form of my improved lightning-arrester and secured to the strip E at the opposite end. and automatic fuse-block. Fig. 5 is a plan The wires (4 are held in place by screws Z), in- 65 view of the same. Fig. 6 is a vertical transserted in the curved bars I O. verse section taken on line (3 U in Fig. l and The strip E is provided at its outer extrem- Fig. 7 is a perspective View of another modiity with a binding-post II, and the curved fication of my invention. bar 13 is furnished with a binding-post I. Similar letters of reference indicate corre- Near the binding-post His placed a binding- 70 spending parts in all the views. post .I, which supports a contact-piece c. In

The object of my invention is to construct the base A is inserted a right-angled spring a superior lightning-arrester and automatic (1, forholding the spring-pressed arm G while fuse-block of that class in which the parts the shunts a are being put into place.

2 5 after one operation will automatically place The instrument being placed in the line by 75 themselves in position for another operation, connecting the binding-posts II I with the thus always maintaining the circuit complete, line-wire, and the binding-post J being 0011- except at the instant of rupture by lightning nected with the ground and the shunt-wires or other causes. This end I attain by a cona being in place, the current passes from the 0 struction which comprises in its organization binding-post I through the bar B, the first of So a pair of curved bars secured to a base, one the wires (6,13116 arm G and its pivot, the strip of the bars being of insulating material, the E to the binding-post II. Should the line be other of conducting material,a series of shunts struck by lightning or short circuited, the

connecting the curved bar of insulating maheavy charge would cause the fusion of the terial with the curved bar of conducting mawire a, thus momentarily interrupting the 8 5 tcrial, and an actuating-arm resting against circuit. The spring-pressed arm G moves one of the shunts and capable of automatforward to the next wire a and reestablishes ically passing to the next in series upon the the circuit. Should the line be struck a secdestruction of the first, the metallic bar be- 0nd time, the second wire will be melted, and

ing connected with the line and the springso on until the entire series of shunt-wires is 0 pressed arm with the ground or line. The melted. After the last one of the series gives construction also embodies a contact for enway the arm G strikes the contact 0, thus gaging with the arm after it has completed grounding the line. Should a continuous contacts with and destroyed all of the shunts, heavy current be delivered to the line-wire,

as will be hereinafter more fully described. the shunt-wires a will be fused in quick suc- 5 The invention consists in certain novel feacession and the line will be grounded on the tures of construction and combinations that contact 0. willfully appear hereinafter, and be finally In the modified form shown in Figs. 4C, 5, the subjects of the claims. and 6 the arm G, instead of being attached To the base-board A are secured the curved to the stud D, is attached to the spring-arbor D of a spring-actuated train of gearing c', which terminates'in an escapement-Wheel f, whose motion is limited by the pallet g and the weighted arm attached thereto. As the spring-actuated train of gearing is of the usual well-known form, no special description will be required. The spring-arbor in this case is provided with a thimble h, which is in electric communication with the arm G, and the said thimble is pressed by a brush 1', formed on the end of a copper strip connected electrically with one branch of the main Wire through the binding-post II. The arm G normally rests upon one of the wires to, and when the wire is fused by a strong current or discharge of lightning the spring of the train of gearing causes the arm to move forward to the next fuse-wire, but on account of the escapement its movement is smaller than that of the arm G. (Shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.) Vhen the arm G passes the last fuse-wire, it comes to rest upon the ground contact 0, which is electrically connected with the ordinary lightning-arrester plate (1 at the opposite end of the base-board A and having binding-posts I and J. By retarding the movement of the arm G in the manner described time is given for the complete dis charge of the line-wire, and it also prevents a blow upon a fuse-wire, and thus avoids a possibility of injury to the wire or its connections.

It will be seen that the spring in Figs. at, 5, and 6 while specifically such is more broadly a motor or means for actuating the arm G.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7 the fuse-wires a are stretched from a metallic post 13' to a post 0 of insulating material. The post B is connected with the bindingpost 1 and the ground contact-wire C is stretched from the post B to the post 0, but it is insulated from the binding-post B and connected electrically through the ground-wire with the binding-post J In front of the wires supported by the posts B G there is a tubular standard D which is slotted longitudinally on the side next the series of wires and contains a follower j, carrying an arm G provided on its free end with a eontactpiece 7L2, which rests upon the fuse-wire. As the fusewircs are melted one after the other, as described in connection with Figs. 1 and 4:, the arm Gr dropsinto contact with the f usewires in succession, and when the last fusewire is melted it comes into contact with the ground-wire 0 thus connecting the line-wire with the ground.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an automatic fuse-block and lightning-arrester, the combination of a conducting-bar, a non-conducting bar, fuse-wires extended across from one bar to the other, a contact-arm mounted to successively engage the fuse-wires, amotor connected to move the arm, and mechanism capable of regulating the operation of said motor and making the movement of the arm regular and uniform, substantially as described.

2. In an automatic fuse-block and lightning-arrester, the combination of a conducting-bar, a non-conducting bar, aseries of con tact-wires extended across from one bar to the other, a contact-arm mounted to successively engage the contact-wires, spring-controlled gearing for moving the contact-arm at a regular speed, and a brush making sliding contact with the contact-arm, substantially as described.

3. An automatic fuse-block and lightningarrester, the same consisting of a base, two arc-shaped bars mounted on the base, one being of a conducting and the other of a noncondueting material, fuse-wires extended across from one bar to the other, a contact arm mounted 011 an axis concentric to the arcs of the bars and capable of successively engaging the contact-wires, a contact-point adapted to be engaged by the contact-arm when all of the fuse-wires have been severed, spring-controlled gearing for driving the contact-arm at a regular speed, and a brush making sliding engagement with the contact-arm, substantially as described.

at. In an automatic fuse-block and lightningarrester, the combination of a conducting-bar, a non-conducting bar, fuse-wires extending across from one bar to the other, a contact-arm mounted to successively engage the fuse-wires, a motor for moving the contact-arm, said motor having a tendency to operate continually and mechanism capable of partly restraining said motor and of making regular and uniform the movement thereof and of the arm, substantially as described.

THOMAS L. GARLETON.

\Vitnesses:

LOUIS ROSENTHAL, JAMES J. LEMON. 

